1
as in oppressive
difficult to endure
the murderous heat of the desert
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
those exams were murderous
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
braved murderous machine-gun fire to capture the hill from the enemy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in murdering
eager for or marked by the shedding of blood, extreme violence, or killing
Viking warriors became legendary for the murderous fury they displayed in battle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of murderous
Certainly heroic for repeatedly rebelling against a murderous regime armed to the teeth.
—
Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
In rip-roaring zombie sequel, Sir Jimmy Crystal leads a gang of murderous zealots known as the Jimmies.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2026
American immigration barriers and murderous Nazi policy took their toll, with Malie, her husband, Chaim, and their two children, Ida and Peppi, all killed at Auschwitz.
—Chad Gibbs, The Conversation, 21 Jan. 2026
Last week, Peres Magalhaes, who previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Ryan's death, testified that Brendan started planning the murderous scheme after the two started having an affair around October 2022.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for murderous
Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
In rip-roaring zombie sequel, Sir Jimmy Crystal leads a gang of murderous zealots known as the Jimmies.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2026
American immigration barriers and murderous Nazi policy took their toll, with Malie, her husband, Chaim, and their two children, Ida and Peppi, all killed at Auschwitz.
—Chad Gibbs, The Conversation, 21 Jan. 2026
Last week, Peres Magalhaes, who previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Ryan's death, testified that Brendan started planning the murderous scheme after the two started having an affair around October 2022.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for murderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for murderous
Adjective
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Enoch confronts the celestial hosts, all wearing capes of swastika red under an oppressive horizon of jutting lightning and glaring orange mountains.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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The film adapts Xianzhe Xu’s comic series and unfolds during China’s Sui Dynasty under Emperor Yang Guang’s oppressive reign.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This requires the difficult task of collecting precise, real-world measurements of complex nuclei and comparing the measurements with the models’ predictions.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Feb. 2026
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While that process may prove difficult, the suspension option was hardly better.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Thompson’s original death sentence was later overturned, but a jury again sentenced him to die by lethal injection following a new punishment trial in November 2005.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Thompson, 55, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Before Getting Started When cleaning your oven, try to avoid using harsh oven cleaners or using the self-cleaning feature.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The origin of clemency is understood through the Federalist Papers as a need for mercy in instances when the criminal justice system was too harsh.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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If some species can continue reproducing even under challenging conditions, that resilience could buy ecosystems valuable time.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Much of Shrinking revolves around people going through challenging times and healing through finding love, such as Paul (Harrison Ford) beginning a relationship with his doctor.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Martinez and another man were charged in October with assault with a deadly weapon, accused of following the agents' vehicles and initiating the collision with Exum's SUV that led to the shooting on Chicago's south side.—
James Hill,
ABC News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The January 29, 2025, collision was the deadliest commercial aviation accident in the United States in the last 16 years.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As the internet blackout in Iran appears to be easing after weeks of protests across the country, the scale of the Islamic Republic regime’s bloodiest crackdown in decades is now being made public, according to activist groups.—
Somayeh Malekian,
ABC News,
27 Jan. 2026
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One of the bloodiest moments in that revolution, which deposed the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and led to the rise of the incumbent Islamist regime, occurred on September 8, 1978.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Nowhere perhaps was the searing heat more evident than at Melbourne Park, where the usual crowds thronging outside the Australian Open tennis tournament dwindled to a ghost town as temperatures soared.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Some might call it a searing eyesore.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Murderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/murderous. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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